coon
A raccoon, especially in hunting talk.
Also called raccoon.
Updated September 21, 2026
coon pronunciation
/KOON/
Meaning
In rural Southern and Appalachian speech, coon is the short everyday word for a raccoon. Coon hunting means night work with coonhounds that trail and tree the animal. That woods sense is old and still common. The same spelling is also a racist slur for a Black person; context and intent matter, and that use is ugly and separate from the animal talk.
How folks use it
- “The dogs treed a coon down by the creek.”
- “He raises coon dogs more than he raises cattle.”
Origin and etymology
American English shortened raccoon to coon by 1742. Raccoon itself comes from an Algonquian word. The hunting culture around coon dogs and night treeing stuck deep in the rural South. A separate insult sense for Black people appears by the 1830s and is not the hunting meaning.
Frequently asked questions
Is coon always about raccoons?
In hunting and farm talk, yes: it means raccoon. The same word has also been used as a racial slur. If somebody is not talking about wildlife or dogs, treat it as hostile language.